"And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her
and said unto her, weep not"
Luke 7:13
If you have participated in the Race for the Cure for
someone you love, you are aware and probably appreciate
the difficulty of putting such an experience into words.
Your loved one may be starting the journey of life with
breast cancer treatments or he/she may be a living
miracle, a survivor! Your loved one might have fought until
their last breadth and now you Race for the Cure in their
Memory. Each and every step you take in the Race has a
meaning.
Yesterday, at the Boise Race for the Cure 2006, I
participated for the first time for someone who has become
a great friend over the years. My family's past
participation in the Race has been because it is a good
thing to do. But this year's event came in the midst of
our continuing prayers for Sue. I have visited her at
their home and in hospital and left encouraged by her
strength and calmness. I just wanted to do this race for
her.
Sue is married to Hal, a man I look up to for fatherly and
professional guidance. Over the years, they have come to
my speaking engagements and attended the professional
seminars that I conduct. We have had many lunches
together, and ours are not those kinds where you have to
book weeks or months ahead, sometimes it's, "Vincent, we
are in our accountant's office. Can we come by and have
lunch?" Or I may say, "Hal, I am heading to downtown, what
are guys doing? Can we meet for coffee?"
When they are out of town in the winter months, a habit
they have developed since Hal retired, we keep in touch
through their mobile phone number. Sue's simplicity and
amazing love and appreciation of the people in her life is
evident all the time. Sue had mentioned her daughter and
grandchildren so much that I felt I knew them before I met
them.
All the goodness of the people who have touched our hearts
resurfaces in the moment of their greatest vulnerability,
especially when we dedicate a few of our precious minutes
just to think and pray for them. Participation in the Race
for the Cure brings another human aspect that can only be
known from a personal involvement. Your loved one is not
fighting alone.
As in the past, this year's Boise Race will remain in my
memory forever. When I finished, I started looking for my
17 years-old daughter and 9 years-old son let me admit,
they finish ahead of me. I heard a voice from behind me
asking, "Are you Dr. Vincent Kituku?" I turned to see this
stranger who immediately informed me that he was the pilot
who, on May 6 1995, took me to Wyoming to be at my dying
20 year old sister. I never saw him again.
We were reunited by a disease that has infested itself in
the lives and bodies of our daughters, mothers, wives,
fathers, husbands, sons, teachers and neighbors. I didn't
read what was written on his t-shirt. But he had taken
every step with a loved one in mind and heart. I had taken
my steps with Sue in mind and heart. It is from compassion
we bear the burden carried by our loved ones. As we race
together, we tell them to weep not, alone.
I cleared the 5k in 32 minutes, a personal best since I
started running/walking two years ago. God's willing I
will be back next year!
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